Michael Horton still was feeling ill; D'Juan Baker was nursing a sore shoulder, and Bobby Brannen had been bounced off the floor a few too many times as the result of tangling with the Minnesota Golden Gophers. This was a basketball team that needed a day off. It didn't get it, but came close enough.
The Cincinnati Bearcats, not-so-fresh off their promising 81-71 victory over Minnesota, showed up at the Shoemaker Center Thursday morning, watched some tape to prepare for Eastern Kentucky, shot free throws and were sent home for the day by coach Bob Huggins.
Those three players should be fine for Saturday's 1 p.m. game against EKU (0-6), which will be playing its sixth consecutive game on the road and probably needs even more rest than UC (5-2). The Bearcats get a week off following the game to prepare for Massachusetts.
''There's no Danny Fortson on this team and, not yet, Ruben Patterson,'' said forward Melvin Levett, who led UC's win with 20 points and a career-high 11 rebounds. ''We have to play with the guys we've got. ''Coach Huggins always tells us we have one chance to be good. If we play hard, with the team we have out there, we can get some things done.''
As impressive as UC was on the boards against Minnesota, beating back the taller Gophers by a 48-31 margin, and as patient as its offense was in attacking Clem Haskins' zone defense, there still were problems apparent with the Bearcats' defense.
They allowed Minnesota to shoot .460 from the field. Their three major-conference opponents have hit .491. Still, UC has not developed a consistent means of directing opponents away from the shots they want to take, althoughthe team was successful against Minnesota in attacking the ball and creating steals and turnovers.
That led Baker into foul trouble, but Guards Horton, Shawn Myrick and Brent Petrus combined for eight steals. The Bearcats may need a similar approach when they face UMass and its powerful front line in Cleveland Dec. 27.
Haskins, who coached Minnesota to the Final Four last season, praised UC for its physical toughness.
There was a vast difference from UC's 20-point loss to Xavier in the Crosstown Shootout.
''As a team,'' Levett said, ''we played with a lot more intensity.''
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